Matthews v. State

• Decision Date: 17 May 2000
• Docket Number: No. 2D99-1180.,2D99-1180.
• Citation: 774 So.2d 1
• Parties: Alec V. MATTHEWS, a/k/a Alec V. Mathews, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

774 So.2d 1

Alec V. MATTHEWS, a/k/a Alec V. Mathews, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee

No. 2D99-1180.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.

May 17, 2000.

774 So.2d 2

James Marion Moorman, Public Defender, and A. Victoria Wiggins, Assistant Public Defender, Bartow, for Appellant

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and John T. Salgado, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for Appellee.

EN BANC

ALTENBERND, Judge.

Alec V. Matthews, a/k/a Alec V. Mathews, appeals his judgment and sentence for aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.¹ Mr. Matthews argues that the trial court erred in applying the law enforcement multiplier to his sentence because the information filed against him did not allege a violation of section 775.0823, Florida Statutes (Supp.1998). See Watson v. State, 749 So.2d 556 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000) (citing Thornton v. State, 679 So.2d 871 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)).

We conclude that the outcome in Thornton was based on the sentencing rules applicable at the time of the offense in that case. These rules have since been amended, and thus the outcome in Watson was not controlled by Thornton. Upon further consideration, we recede from Watson to the extent it required that an information recite a "violation" of section 775.0823 in order for the trial court to incorporate a law enforcement multiplier into a defendant's scoresheet. It is sufficient that the information identify the offense as a violation of section 784.07, Florida Statutes (Supp.1998), a qualifying offense. Accordingly, we affirm the sentence imposed in this case.

The State filed an information charging Mr. Matthews with three offenses, allegedly occurring on September 4, 1998. Count II alleged "aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer." It did not specifically allege a violation of the Law Enforcement Protection Act, codified in section 775.0823, Florida Statutes (Supp.1998), but it did specifically identify the offense as a violation of section 784.07. Section 784.07 is a specific offense dealing with assault or battery on a law enforcement officer.² Thus, from the inception of this criminal case, Mr. Matthews knew that he was

774 So.2d 3

charged with an offense against a law enforcement officer, and the State had the burden to prove that the victim was a law enforcement officer. The jury returned a verdict specifically finding that Mr. Matthews committed the aggravated assault upon a law enforcement officer and declined to find him guilty of aggravated assault as a lesser offense. When Mr. Matthews was sentenced, the law enforcement multiplier set forth in section 921.0014(1)(b), Florida Statutes (1997), and the 1998 version of Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.703(d)(22) was used to enhance his sentence

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